President Biden imposes entry on non-US citizens who have recently been in SA

* Also reimpose entry ban on travellers who have been in Brazil, UK, Ireland and 26 countries in Europe

* SA is restricted list because of the concerning variant present that has spread beyond the country

allAfrica.com

United States President Joe Biden has banned most non-US citizens who have recently been in South Africa from entering the country, in a bid to contain the spread of a new variant of COVID-19.

A senior U.S. public health official has told Reuters news agency that Biden will also reimpose an entry ban on nearly all non-U.S. travellers who have been in Brazil, the United Kingdom, Ireland and 26 countries in Europe that allow travel across open borders.

“We are adding South Africa to the restricted list because of the concerning variant present that has already spread beyond South Africa,” Dr. Anne Schuchat, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s principal deputy director, in an interview with Reuters

Al Jazeera also reports that the move overturns a last-minute decision from former President Donald Trump that the restrictions on Brazil and Europe be lifted from January 26.

The new valiant was identified late in 2020 by South Africa’s Network for Genomic Surveillance. Scientists are concerned that the variant — called 501Y.V2 — may spread much more efficiently between people, compared with other variants of SARS-CoV-2.

As of January 25, confirmed COVID-19 cases from 55 African countries reached 3,437,638 with reported deaths reaching 85,184  with 2,892,407 as those that have recovered.

South Africa has the most reported cases — 1,412,986 with related deaths at 40,874.

Other most-affected countries are Morocco (466,289), Tunisia (197,373), Egypt (161,817), Ethiopia (133,767), and Nigeria (121,566).